Sheet-feeding apparatus.



A. B. DICK.

SHEET EEEDING APPARATUS.

APPLLGATLON FILED JUNEl 2.9, 1909.

@@@95 31.45, Patmd June 7, 1910.

A. B, DICK. SHEET PEEDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29, 1909.

Patented June 7, 39M.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@A W x wk ATTORNEY Huw-imolal 'Y To all 'whom 'it may concern:

fio

rrnn sirenas retenir orricn lAitlllfl' B. DICK, DF LAKEl FUREST, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNR TO B. DICK COMPANY, 0F

CHICAGO, TLLINOIS, A CORPORTION 0F LLIQIS.

essere. Y

Specification of Letters Patent.

applicati@ mea June e9, 190e. serial no. 505,014.

Be it known that 1, ALBERT B. DICK, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Lake Forest, in the county of Lake and .State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Feeding Apparatus, of which the following is a speci- -fication l I This -invention isd-irected to '.the provision of an improved form ofsheet--feeding apparatus, especially an apparatus of ,this chary actor adapted .for use in connection with stencil-duplicating apparatus.

More particularly, the invention relates to an improved form of sheet-feeding apparatus of the .type disclosed in Patent No.

l 815,689,`granted March 20, 1906.

1 The object of my invention is to provide I an improved form of sheet-feeding apparatus'which -is reliable :and eiiicient in loperation for automatically .feeding sheets successively to mechanism adapted to act lupon the sheets, as, for instance, betweenthe drum and pressure-roller 4of a stencil-duplicating machine. i I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of -m invention in the accompanying drawings, 1nwhich rFigure l is a .central section of a stencilduplicating machine having my improved sheet-feeding' apparatus combined therewith; Fig. 2 .is .a transverse sectionof a .portion of the mechanism shown in 4l; and

. Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are detail vie-tvs, illustrating portions-of the operating mechanism.

Referring to 4these drawings, A designates the base, of the' machine, upon which are lsupported :the side-frames B, B', in

lwhich is journaled ithe drum -.,C Acomprising the heads c and a stenc'iLcarrier cof foraminated material .adapted to support an inkpad c2 `held in i osition by bars 'c3 and over which pad is ,p aced .a stencil of waxed paper or other material, the ends of .the latter being secured .to the .drum inany suitable manner..A The .heads c, cof tthe drum are secured to stub-shafts I), b', which are received in bearings 4formed in the side-frames B, B. Loosely mounted -on .the stub-shaft b is a gear b? adapted to besecured to the .adjacent head c by means of screws b3,'.these screws passing through slots inthe `gear b2, so that the positionof the latter with respect to the head c may be adjusted. The gear?)2 meshes with 1 pinion b4 lcarried by a shaft which is mounted forrotation ina bearing formed in the side-frame B- and carrying means for rotating the shaft and with it the drum Cms, for instance, a crank and handle.

The pressure-roller which coacts with the drum C is shown at l); this roller is loose upon a shaft al', the fendsof which .are rotatable in 'bearings formed in the free ends of arms ci `which are secured toa shaft Z2 adapted to rock in bearings formed in the side-frames of the machine. Also secured to the rock-shaft d2 is an arm (Z3, .the free end of which is pivotally connected4 to a reciprocating bar E. This bar is guided in its vertical Imovement by the stub-shaft b., which passes through an elongated slot in ,the bar, shown at e in Fig. 3. Gn the bar E is a stud or roller c adapted to coact with" la cam e2, which is secured to the gear b2.

The cam e?, coacting with ythe roller e on Fatented une "t, 1910.

the bar E, serves to move the bar and the parts to which it is connected downwardly,

and when the cam ,passes beyond the roller,

bar E and its connected .parts are returned to their former lpositions by springs ea-connected fat one end to the arms d and at their ries a vroller F. On the outer side of the side-frame B is pivotally mounted a cam f adapted to. eoact with the 1roller d? when turnedpby the handle .f mounted thereon, so that by turning the cam f the bar E may be moved downwardly so as toy-carry the pressure-roller D away from the drum to inoperative position. the opposite side of the machine is extended through its Ibearing in the side-frame Y2B and has a spiral gear G secured thereto, meshing with a similar gear g whichis splined by means of Aa spline g. upon a shaft g mounted for rotation in a bearing g2' secured lto the side-frame B and a bearing g3 secured 'to the adjacent arm d.. At its lower-end, shaft g has .a spiral gear g4' secured Athereto and meshingwith a similar gear g5 secured to vthe shaft d on which the pressure-roller D is loosely mounted. Loosely mounted u on the shaft d .are 'two brackets H, H', in t e vouter ends of which are secured the ends of a. feeder h, this-consis-ting of a rod portions of which are covered with rubber having a corrugated or The stub-shaft Lat its ing above described, the shaft d lwill be rotated whenever the drum C is rotated, but as the machine is adapted for use with either automatic or manual feeding of the sheets, the feeder k is loosely mounted upon the shaft d but may be connected thereto so as to rotate therewith. For `this purpose, I provide a clutch for connecting the feeder to the shaft l or disconnecting 1t therefrom at will. i

. Secured upon the shaft d, adjacent to the bracket H, 1s a collar l1. having a groove cut in the-surface thereof parallel to its axis, and the bracket His provided-with a suitable opening in which a pin h2 is adapted to slide in the direction of its length. When the pin h2 moves to the left in Fig. 2, its end enters the groove in the'collar h and locks bracket H to the collar 7L and hence to the shaft d, and pin h2 is urged in this direction by a spring h2, one end of which bears against the pin, the other end being secured to the bracket H. I

Loosely mounted upon the collar i is a collar h4, and in an opening in the adjacent arm d is a pin 71,5, the inner end of which is adaptedto engage the collar h4.

Secured to the side-frame'B is a springmetal piece It, the end of which is adapted to enga-ge the pin It, and a screw h' passes through an opening in the piece h and en. ters `a threaded opening in the side-frame B. Vhen it is desired to employ the automatic feed of the sheets the screw h2 is turned back so that the free end of the piece h may move slightly away from the side-frame B, whereupon the s ring h" forces the end of the pin 71.2 into t e groove in the collar 7a.', thereby locking bracket H and feeder L to the collar h and the shaft d. A portion lof the end of pin h2 extends beyond the cylindrical surface of the collar h', so that when the pin moves'to this osition it moves collar L* and pinA h5 away rom the bracket H. If it isdesired to feed the sheets manually, this requiring the disconnection of the feeder l1, from the shaft d, the screw la7 is tightened up so as to move the free end of the-piece k inwardly, and this causes corresponding movement of the pin h5, the end of which engages the collar and moves the latter toward the bracket H; in this movement, collar h4 engages the end of pin `h2 and forces it back against the tension of sprin 71,2 until it passes out ofthe groove in col ar k', whereupon the feeder will turn loosely upon the shaft d to its lowest position. As the collar h2 will be held in this position byl ink5 and piece l1. during the operation o the machlne employing the manual feed, the end of pin 71,2 cannot again enter the groove in' collar It so as to cause rotation of the feeder.

Extending between the side-frames of the machinev and mounted for rotation in bearings formed therein, is a rock-shaft I forming a support fora feed-board a'. rI"his feedboard has downwardly turned flanges z" at its lateral edges, which are provided with notches to receive the rock-shaft I. On this shaft is secured an arm 2 upon the ends of which the feed-board rests. The forward edge of the feed-board lies close to vertically disposed surfaces 3 and under horizontally disposed ledges 4 formed upon the members 5 which are adjustably secured to a rod i extending between the side-frames of the machine. The upper ends of these members may carry sheet-guides 7 for guiding the sheets, after they have passed between the drum and pressure-roller, into a suitable tray. Secured to the rock-shaft I adjacent to the side-frame B', is an arm Jg having an ear y' at its end through which a screw y" extends, the end of this screw be'- ing pivotally connected to lever j2 pivotally mounted upon the side-frame B and having its free end connected to a spiral spring 7'3, the other end of which 'is secured to the frame of thel machine. The lever j2 may be extended as shown at j* to provide an index coperating with a suitable scale on the side-frame. The opposite end of the arm J extends in close proximity to the bar E and has a rack K formed thereon. Coacting with this rack is a pawl c pivotal-ly mounted upon the bar E, and a spring z,

'connected at one end to the bar E and at the other to the pawl le, tends' to turn the pawl c in -a direction to carry its end into engagement with the teeth of the rack K. Onl the inner side of the side-frame B is a pin 702 with which the pawl 7c coacts.

Fig.,1 of the drawings shows the feedboard z' in the position 1n which it is used when the sheets are fed automatically. When the manual feed of the sheets is employed, the feed-board is placed in a -higher position, 'as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, so that the sheets moved forwardly over the surface thereof will pass in between' the drum and pressure-roller. When the automatic feed is employed, it is unnecessary to provide a stop for arresting the forward movement of the sheet in the correct position with respect to the stencil upon the drum, but such a paper-stopis desirablel when. the sheets are moved for- ,ward into position for printing manually.

I have, therefore, provided such a paperstop, and in combination therewith means for rendering this stop operative or inoperative when changing the machine for manual or automatic feeding respectively. For this purpose, `the paper-stop is so arranged that 1n connecting the feeder t to the shaft d, so as to rotate therewith, ,the paper-stop will be rendered inoperative, and on the other hand the disconnection of the feeder from the shaft d brings the paper- Clt stop into operative condition. Wha-u the pa per-stop is operative, it is moved in accordance with the rotation of the drum C, so that it will be in position to arrest the inovementof a sheet while the open portionA of the-drum C is passing adjacent to the pressure-roller D.

(ln thev free ends of the arms (Z are depending portions L, to which are pivotally connected curved arms Z, the opposite ends of which carry a metallic strip Z constituting the paper-stop. The arm Z at `one side of the machine has a link Z2 (Fig. 5), pivotally connected at one end thereto, the other end of this link being pivotally connected at Ztt-o a lever Z3 which is pivotally mounted at Z"l upon the side-frame B. Lever Z: has a. slot Z formed therein concentric with the pivot of the lever, and the screw 7i? passes through this slot. When the automatic feed of the sheets is employed, the screw lf is loosened, so that the free end of the spring-piece l1. is spaced apart from the side-frame B as before described, so that the lever Z3 is not gripped between the sideframc B and the spring-piece 71,6; therefore, as the pressure-roller is moved up and down to carry it into and out of coaction with the drum C, the arms Z and the lever Z3 will move. up and down with it, the paper-stop remaining always in substantially the same position as that in which it is shown in Figs. l and 5, and in which position it is inoperative. But if the screw k7 is'tightcned up while roller D is raised so as to disconnect the feeder L from the shaft al, the free end of lever Z3 will be gripped between the spring-piece and the side-frame l, so th'at this lever cannot turn on its pivot as the pressure-roller is moved up and down; therefore, when the pressureroller moves downwardly, the link Z2 will be held against downward movement and the arm Z connected to link Z2 will be turned about its pivotal connection to the link, so as to carry the paper-stop Z to a position in which it is vertically disposed opposite the line of coaction of the pressure-roller and drum. In this position, it will arrest 'the movement of a sheet over the feed-board, and as the pressure-roller is moved npwardly just as the closed portion' of the drum comes around into coaction with the pressure-roller so that the sheet will be gripped between these two parts, the arms Z will beturned about the pivotal connection of one of these arms to the link Z2 so as to carry the paper-stop Z back to the inopertivo position in which it is shown.

.ln operz'lting themachine with the automatic feed, a pile of sheets is placed upon the feed-board, with the forward edge of the pile. resting against the vertically disposed surfaces 2'. of the members lilhen the feed-board is released, the springl f3 will rock the shaft I so as to carry the forward edge of the sheet-pile upwardly until the top sheet is pressed against the horizontally disposed stops 274. The feeder h being now connected to the shaft d, the drum C is rotated by means of the handle, and the shaft `al will be rotated by means of the gearing connecting it to the drum, this gearing being such 'that shaftl d and the feeder connect-cd thereto will make one revolution while the drum C is making one revolution so that a sheet shall be fed into position for printing each time the forward edge of the stencil-sheet comes around into coaction with the pressure-roller. The movement of thc feeder carries it into coaction with the top sheet of the pile upon the feed-board, and. it draws this sheet from under the stops 4, buckling the sheet between it-and a suitable pressure device M which may be provided, bearing by its own weight upon the top of the pile at a suitable distance from the forward edge thereof. The continued rotation of the feeder finally results in dropping the forward edge of the top sheet upon the upper surface of the pressure-roller D just before the closed portion of the drum C comes into coaction with the pressure-roller,

and the sheet is then gripped between the drum and the pressure-roller, imprinted upon and forwarded through the machine in the usual manner. Just after the sheet has been buckled as above described, the bar E is moved downwardly and the pawl /n engages one of the teeth of the rack K, thereby rocking the shaft I and the feedboard carried thereby, so that the forward edge of the sheet pile is carried downwardly a short distance, away from the stops i, and on the upward movement of the pressure-roller and thc bar E the feed-board is returned to its former position by the spring ln the upward movement of bar E, the pawl la engages the stop 7a2 and is moved out of coaction with the rack Kl Thus the forward edge of the sheet pile is moved downwardly after each top sheet. is buckled,

and as the height of the pile is decreased by the withdrawal of the sheets therefrom, the feed-board can always be turned by the spring jg to such position that the top sheet will be pressed against the stops i", for the reason that at certain times in the operation of the machine the pawl ln, on being moved downwardly, after its disconnection from the rack l, will not be able to engage the same tooth of the rack as it did before, but will have to engage the next lower tooth. lf it is desired to operate the machine feeding the sheets manually instead of automatically, the feed-board l is moved from the position in which it is shown in Fig. l to the position indicated by the dotted lines in that ligure, and the screw ZU is tightened so as to disconnect the feeder from the bar E and at the Sametime bring the paper-stop Z vinto operation in the manner above described, When operating in this way, the paper-stop is brought up to. operative position by the downward movement of the pressure-roller to permit of the proper positioning of the sheet, and when the roller is moved upwardly into operative position the paper-stop is returned to its inoperative position. The .operative position 'of the paper-stop may be regulated as desired by reason of the provision of the slot Z6 in the lever Z3 through which the screw 7U extends, for by locking the lever Z3 in different positions relatively to the screw if the position of the pivotal connection between the link Z2 and the aiin l about which the paper-stop is turned is correspondingly changed.

Having now described my invention,.what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows l. The combination of a rotatable drum, a shaft, a roller on said shaft coacting with said drum, a feeder mounted on said shaft, means for connecting said feeder to and disconnecting it from said shaft, a paper-stop pivotally mounted opposite the line of coaction of said drum and roller, means-for roeking the paper-stop on its pivots in accordance with the rotation of the drum to operative and inoperative position, and means led on said shaft, a clutch having 'clutch-member for connecting the feeder to for rendering said paper-stop inoperative, substantially asset forth.

2. The combination of a rotatable drum, a shaft movablev toward and away from the drum in accordance withthe rotation of the drum, a roller on said shaft, a feeder mounted on said shaft means for connecting the feeder to and disconnecting it from the shaft, a paper-'stop movable to operative and inoperative vpositions bythe movement of said shaft toward and away from the drum, and means for rendering said shaft ineffective to move the paper-stop lto operative position, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination ofa rotatable drum, a shaft, a roller on said shaft coacting with said drum, a feeder mounted on said shaft, means for connecting said feeder to and disconnecting it from said shaft, a paper-stop movable in accordance with the rotation of the drinn to operative and inoperative position, means for rendering said paper-stop inoperative, and means for effecting an adjustment of the range of movement of the paper-stop to vary the position of the stop when the latter is in operative position, substantially as set forth. v

4. 4The combination of a rotatable drum, a shaft rotatable in accordance therewith, a roller on said shaft, a feeder loosely mounta movable said shaft, a spring for operating the said clutch-member,

and a device'movabl'e into yed on said shaft,

said shaft when moved relatively to the drum to move the paper-stop to operative and inoperative positions, and means for rendering said shaft inoperative to, move the paper-stop, substantially as set forth.

G. The combination of a rotatable drum, a shaft, a roller on said shaft coacting with said drum, a feeder mounted on said shaft, means for connecting said feeder to and disconnecting it fromv said shaft, means for moving said shaft toward and away from said drum, a paper-stop pivotally mounted opposite the line of coaction of said drum and roller, means for causing said shaft when moved relatively to the drum to rock the paper-stop on its pivots, and means for rendering said shaft inoperative to move the paper-stop, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination of a rotatable drum, a shaft, 'means for rotating the shaft in accordance with the rotation of the drum, a rolleron said shaft, a feeder mounted on said shaft, means for connecting the. feeder to and disconnecting it from the shaft, a feed-board mounted on one side of the line of coaction of said drum and roller, a paperstop for positioning a sheet mounted on'the other side of the line of coaction of said drum and roller, means for moving said stop lto operativeand inoperative positions in accordance with the rotation of said drum,

and means for effecting an adjustment of the range of movement of the paper-stop to vary the position of the stop when the latter is in operative position, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination of a rotatable drum, a shaft, a roller on said shaft coacting with said drum, a feeder mounted on said shaft, means for connecting said feeder to and disconnecting it from said shaft, a paper-stop movable in accordance with the rotation of the drum to operative and inoperative posi-v tion, and means for simultaneously connecting the feeder to said shaft and rendering said paper-stop inoperative, substantiallly as set forth. .if v

9. The combinationvof a rotatable drinn, a shaft movable toward and away from the drum in accordance with the rotation of the drum, a roller on said shaft, a feeder mountincans for connecting the feeder to and disconnecting it from the shaft, a paper-top movable to operative and inoperative positions by the movement of'said shaft toward and away from the drum, and a single means for connecting the feeder to said shaft and rendering said paper-stop inoperative, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination of a rotatable drum, a shaft, a roller on said shaft coacting With said drum, a feeder mounted on said shaft, means for connecting said feeder to and disconnecting it from said'shaft, a paper-stop movable in accordance with the rotation of the drum to operative and inoperative position, a pivotal support for said paper-stop, and means for locking said support in pos1- tion or permitting movement thereof, substantially as set forth.

11. The combination of a rotatable drum, means for rotating the same, a shaft, means for moving the same toward and away from the drum, a roller on said shaft coactin With said drum, a feeder mounted'on said shaft, means for rotating the feeder, a ivo tally mounted feed-board, stops adapte to coact With the top sheet of a pile on said feed-board, means for rocking said feedboard in accordance with the rotation of said drum, said means being intermittently disengaged from vthe feed-board7 and a a pawl moving with said roller as the latter is moved toward and away from the drum, a.

rack operated by said pawland connected tothe feed-board for rocking the same, and

,means for causing said pawl to disengage said rack, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 21 day of June, 1909.

ALBERT B. DICK.

Witnesses:

M. iff. BURKART, 'W. Gr. ARNOLD. 

